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As stock prices soared this year, a chorus of pessimists warned that 1987 was looking more like 1929, when a stock market crash helped to usher in the Great Depression. Yesterday, after a plunge reminiscent of the worst days of 1929, one pressing question was whether the aftershocks would be as devastating to individuals and the nation.

The quick answer, many economists say, is no. The huge losses on Wall Street constitute a substantial blow to the economy at large. But there are many safeguards in place today -some instituted directly in response to the Depression - that would tend to prevent the cascading financial collapse that characterized the crash, impoverishing millions of Americans.

''A stock market crash doesn't ripple out into the economy with the same force'' as it did in 1929, said Geoffrey H. Moore, director of the Center for International Business Cycle Research at Columbia University.

To be sure, there are some unsettling similarities between the current era and the pre-Depression years. Like the Roaring Twenties, the 1980's have seen an astonishing boom Wall Street. Now as then, individual and corporate debt are high, and some sectors of the economy are extremely weak. Trade relations are strained, with protectionist sentiment growing.

But today's economy is better equipped to handle financial shocks. ''I don't see this decline in the stock market leading to a great breakdown in the economy,'' said Robert A. Kavesh, a professor of finance and economics at the New York University School of Business. ''There are still many elements of strength in the economy -profits are strong, for example.''

Among the important differences between today and 1929 are Federal deposit insurance, unemployment insurance and Social Security insurance and other elements of what has come to be known as the safety net. These not only guarantee against widespread destitution; their very existence should also help to prevent the kind of financial panic that fed on itself in the Depression.

''In 1929, you didn't have insurance of bank deposits, you didn't have the Securities and Exchange Commission, you had much less knowledge of how the economy worked,'' Professor Kavesh said.

Today the Government is much more willing to intervene to keep the economy growing. ''All governments, liberal and conservative, have assumed that responsibility, which wasn't the case in 1929,'' said John Kenneth Galbraith, a retired professor of economics at Harvard University and author of ''The Great Crash.'' Huge Federal budget deficits make it difficult for Washington to increase Government spending, however, which has been one response to economic slowdowns. First Line of Defense

The Federal Reserve would be the first line of defense if the financial system began to falter. ''If necessary -and I don't think it will be - the Federal Reserve could provide additional bank reserves and other support to make sure any loans that turned sour because of what's happened in the market wouldn't result in a banking crisis,'' said Charles L. Schultze, director of the economic studies program at the Brookings Institution.

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After the crash, historians say, the Federal Reserve did precisely the wrong thing and tightened credit, putting further pressure on financial institutions that had suffered large losses.

In general, Federal regulation plays a far greater role in the financial markets. Banks, for example, were allowed to trade stocks for their customers in 1929; today they are not. In 1929, an investor could buy stock almost entirely with borrowed money; today, investors may borrow no more than half a stock's purchase price. Role as an Employer

The Government plays another role as well, that of employer. Government employment has become a significant sector in the economy, one that is relatively immune from the gyrations of financial markets.

Broader changes in the economy tend to limit the effects of a drop in stock prices. The growth of the service sector is an example. Service industries tend to be more resistant to recession, according Mr. Moore.

Specific factors will also work to contain the damage. Federal insurance protects individual bank accounts up to $100,000; there was no such insurance in 1929. ''In terms of confidence and faith, deposit insurance prevents panic,'' Mr. Schultze said. Brokerage Accounts Insured

Similarly, the Securities Investors Protection Corporation insures brokerage account for up to $500,000. Thus, if a brokerage house were to fail, its clients would not be wiped out.

Today, Federal benefits would supply many individuals who lost their jobs or savings with at least some income, and those dollars in turn would provide some fuel for the economy. The sharp contraction of consumer demand was a key ingredient in the Depression.

Mr. Galbaith cautioned that at least one factor was worse today than in 1929: the large presence of foreign investors. If they should suddenly withdraw, it would not only depress the markets further but hurt the dollar as well. Fear about the decline of the dollar is one of the factors being cited in the stock market decline. THE DOW'S WORST DAYS Following are the 10 largest one-day point declines for the Dow Jones industrial average. Date Point Drop Percent Drop Close Dec. 12, 1914 17.42 24.40% 54.00 Oct. 19, 1987 508.00 22.60 1,738.74 Oct. 28, 1929 38.33 12.80 260.64 Oct. 29, 1929 30.57 11.70 230.07 Nov. 6, 1929 25.55 9.90Y 232.13 Dec. 18, 1899 5.57 8.70 58.27 Aug. 12, 1932 5.79 8.40 63.11 March 14, 1907 6.89 8.30 76.23 July 21, 1933 7.55 7.84 88.71 Oct. 18, 1937 10.57 7.75 125.74 Source: Associated Press

A version of this article appears in print on October 20, 1987, on Page A00001 of the National edition with the headline: STOCKS PLUNGE 508 POINTS, A DROP OF 22.6%; 604 MILLION VOLUME NEARLY DOUBLES RECORD; Does 1987 Equal 1929?. Order Reprints|Today's Paper|Subscribe